


Sleepwalk With Me

by AsagiStilinski



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Laura Hale, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- Werewolves are still a thing, Anxiety, Baker Derek Hale, Christmas, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Sleep Deprivation, Sleepwalking, holidays are hell, stiles has anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-13 11:49:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12983451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Derek had thoughthehad a long day, but apparently his day was nothing compared to the guy he found sleepwalking in the middle of the street wearing underwear, a t-shirt, and slippers





	Sleepwalk With Me

**Author's Note:**

> Day three of 12 Days Of Sterek! This one was inspired by this picture on Tumblr, http://asagi-s-garden.tumblr.com/post/164984253453 , because when I first glanced at it I thought it was Dylan O'Brien

Derek was tired

But to be fair, that was really nothing new, he was always tired around this time of year, what with the holidays being only a few weeks away now

It was one of those double-sided coins to owning his own business

On the bright side alot of business was good business, and the holidays always brought alot of business, but ofcourse that meant being _freaking **exhausted**_ from November through ... well, Febuarary actually

New Year's was fairly busy for bakeries but it was nothing compared to Valentine's Day....

Just the thought of that made him shudder

But for now they were just dealing with Christmas- still exhausting but not as bad as it would be in a couple of months

Regardless though, it was late December, he had just stayed _more_ than late at work trying to fix a broken oven, and he was tired, the streets were empty, and if this stupid red light would ever turn green, he MIGHT eventually get home

He was zoned out, for the most part, not paying much attention to what was going on around him, just staring at the light, waiting for it to change...

He glanced up with disinterest for a moment, but suddenly noticed something.... extremely odd

There, standing on the sidewalk, was a guy with fluffy brown hair, pale skin, and dark, exhausted, empty looking eyes....

And wearing nothing but a long t-shirt, boxers, and slippers

This _couldn't_ be good

The light turned green- finally- and Derek was suddenly far less concerned with getting home

He finally pressed down on the gas pedal, turning and pulling up to the sidewalk where the stranger was

The guy clearly had no idea where he was or what was going on, and Derek knew if he stayed out here like this for too much longer he was going to get hurt

Quietly, he opened his car door, carefully approaching the stranger and sniffing around him

No drugs, no booze, he smelled clean...

Although there was a pretty heavy scent of coffee.....

"Excuse me?" Derek said softly, but there was no response

"Hey.... Sir?" he asked, carefully tapping the guy on the shoulder

"I put the pancakes in the grave... Hawaiian chicken...." the stranger muttered

.....

Welp

Obviously the guy wasn't in his right mind

Sighing, he carefully maneuvered the stranger into his car, buckling him in and listening to the flurry of weird, incoherent sentences pouring out of the stranger's mouth

He should probably take him to the police station or the hospital, but that might not go over the best way

There had been a pretty big car accident about an hour ago and the hospital was likely still clogged up with that, the sheriff's station had sent several deputies out to deal with it too, if he dropped the guy off at either of those places he probably wouldn't even get any attention for hours, and it seemed like all he needed was a good night's sleep

Plus, they'd probably think he was drunk or high or something and put him through a bunch of needless tests....

It'd be better if Derek just took him home

He glanced at the stranger over his shoulder as the guy tried to curl up against the window and felt a slight pang of pity for his clearly sleep-deprived state

Getting him home and in bed was the best thing that could happen to him, and the sooner the better at that

 

~+~

 

Stiles gasped, jerking awake suddenly and feeling his heart slamming in his chest, his body trembling and a weird buzz of some sort seeming to tingle all throughout his body

God he hated this weird post-sleep fog that he so often woke up with, the sense that he had barely dozed off and didn't know where he was or what was happening only to find out that he had been asleep for hours on end....

Yeah, he definitely hated that sensation....

It was only after letting the cobwebs out and really getting a good look around that he made a very important, very terrifying realization: this wasn't his home

He wasn't in his house

He wasn't in his BED

He wasn't even in his pajamas!

Holy crap holy crap holy crap where the hell was he!?

"Morning,"

Stiles may have shreiked

The man who greeted him- a really beautifull guy with dark hair, a beautifull beard, and the most stunningly gorgeous green-gold-hazel eyes he had ever seen- seemed somewhat startled by the sudden reaction, bushy eyebrows raising and head tilting just slightly

But that was it, he didn't seem all that concerned

And he was holding a tray of waffles

...

Huh

"You don't remember last night, do you?"

Oh God...

Oh GOD.... what was last night!?

The stranger must have noticed the terrified look on his face, given he quickly went into damage control mode

"It isn't what you think, I mean, I just drove you home," he said quickly

"Drove me home?" Stiles asked in confusion, eyebrows pinched and nose wrinkled

"Home from where?"

The last thing he remembered was going to bed the night before- totally normal, his bed, his house, where would he be that he needed to be brought home?

"You were wandering around Maple Street in a t-shirt and boxers, pretty incoherent, I take it you were sleep-walking,"

Stiles felt his heart stutter, anxiety starting to increase even more than it had when the guy first came in

Sleep-walking....

That was all _kinds_ of bad

God only knows what he did wile he was completely out of it and wandering around

"When did you find me?"

"Around midnight, I had just checked the clock when I left work and it was just after eleven-thirty at the time,"

Oh... good....

Then that meant that Stiles couldn't have gotten up to TOO much trouble considering he had gone to bed around eleven-thirty

And Maple Street wasn't THAT far from the house

But still, the thought of spending ANY time outside of his own home and incoherent really wasn't what he'd call appealing

"I don't believe this... _sleepwalking_.... I've never done anything like that before," he said with a frustrated huff

"You must be pretty stressed out," the stranger observed

Yeah, Stiles _really_ didn't need the reminder

"Stressed out" was putting it MORE than mildly

"Yeah that's.... one word for it," he muttered back, rubbing his eyes tiredly

The attractive stranger seemed to be taking pity on him, given the sad look that fell across the guy's face as he walked slowly towards Stiles and set his hand on the other's shoulder

"I'm sure you're well aware of this, but you may consider sleeping more,"

Stiles snorted, rolling his eyes playfully and running his fingers through his hair

"Yeah, I hadn't thought of that, thanks,"

If he had a dime for how often he had been told that he'd be rich and wouldn't have any problems keeping him up at night...

"Something tells me you've heard this advice before,"

"Yeah, but don't take it personally, I don't use the toothpaste that four out of five dentists recommend either, so... guess I'm just not an advicey kind of person,"

"Maybe you shouldn't look at this as advice then, maybe you should look at it as ... a recommendation from a freind, like a book recommendation," the stranger suggested, finally stepping out of the doorway and making his way over to the bed, handing Stiles the tray of food

"Afraid you won't have much luck there either, just ask my buddy Scott, I almost never take book recommendations, appreciate the food though," he said with a small shrug, eagerly reaching for the bottle of syrup that the strange, hot dude had so kindly put on the tray with his waffles

"Is there any kind of recommendation or advice that you DO listen to?"

"Mmm.... not on a regular basis,"

The stranger seemed kind of frustrated with this information, and Stiles wasn't sure why

Maybe because he felt dissed that Stiles was so easily brushing off his advice or something?

"You really do need to get better rest,"

It was starting to sound less like advice now, and more like a doctor reaching for a prescription pad

"Yeah, well, it's only a few more weeks till Christmas, so fat chance of THAT happening, it was hard enough for me to get decent sleep BEFORE I opened my own business, especially around this time of year, but now? Pretty much impossible,"

The stranger seemed slightly surprised by the sudden information, but a warm smile graced his face anyway

"You own your own business too?"

Too?

As in, Hot Waffle Dude ALSO owned his own business?

Talk about a funny coincidence

"Yeah I do, what's your's?"

"Bakery,"

This guy owned a bakery?

Wow, and here Stiles thought he couldn't get any hotter

"Aww.. cute...." Stiles said with a slight pout, not that he had actually MEANT to say that but now that it was out there in the world he couldn't exactly take it back....

Maybe if he just ignored that it happened then it would just go away....

"I um, own an apothecary,"

"Apothecary? So... magical artifacts, herbal remedies, things like that?" the stranger guessed

"Um, yeah, basically, ofcourse the uh... 'magical artifacts' aren't REAL magic, because, you know, real magic doesn't exist, bu-"

"I'm a werewolf, you can stop pretending,"

Oh

"Oh that's... that's cool, but out of curiosity uh... how did you know I'm... you know, _supernaturally inclined_?"

"When I carried you in last night the lights started flickering on and off, you were having a nightmare or something, I tried to wake you up but you only stirred and went back to sleep, thankfully that seemed to be enough to stop the nightmare though,"

"Oh..." he said quietly

Stiles may not know who this guy was (still) but he certainly seemed to be good-hearted

"Listen, dude-"

"Derek,"

"Derek, don't take it personally that I'm not really listening to the 'get more rest' thing ok? It isn't you, it's just... it's like this every year, I barely sleep, I let the stress of the holiday crap get to me, and I don't get any real rest until December 26th, having the store just ... makes it worse, so if I already could barely sleep..."

Derek looked.... oddly concerned by that

Stiles wasn't sure why he cared, it wasn't like they knew eachother or anything

"I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all,"

"Well I'll try not to sleepwalk from now on," Stiles replied with a slight snort

"That isn't how I meant it and I'm pretty sure you know that," Derek frowned

"Look, I appreciate the concern, seriously, but this is something I've dealt with for most of my life, holidays equal stress and probably lack of sleep, it's not going to change just because I try a little harder,"

Derek still seemed somewhat dismayed at that, and he looked like he was about to say something else, but then his cell phone went off and he took it out of his pocket, glancing at the screen and frowning slightly

"I have to go... listen, just... enjoy your food, feel free to use the shower if you'd like, there's some money on the table if you'd like to take a cab home, otherwise if ... if you'd rather call someone to pick you up, there's a phone downstairs, um... sorry, I just.... sorry,"

Stiles didn't know why he was apologizing, but he didn't really get the chance to speculate either, since Derek was up and out of the room before he had much of a chance to say anything else

And then it was just Stiles and the waffles

....

(They were really pretty good waffles though)

 

~+~

 

"If that doesn't work just come back and we'll try something stronger ok? Don't worry, we'll get you that baby yet," Stiles promised with a wink, waving politely to the woman who had just left the shop

One thing he hadn't expected from the Christmas rush was how many people were going to be stopping in for fertility treatments, but that was alright, he liked the fertility business

He turned away from the door, heading back to the counter so he could relieve his employees of the extra customers

Unfortunately.... he didn't quite make it there

"Hi,"

He spun quickly on his heel, mouth falling open in surprise as he stared at the man in front of him

"Derek! Hey! How did you uh.... why are you... did I do something wro-"

"No, no, I um... I came to apologize,"

Now Stiles had really heard everything

"Apologize?" he echoed in skepticism

"Dude, you saved me from getting smashed by a car or kidnapped or something- probably- and gave me not only the warmest bed EVER to sleep in but also the BEST waffles in the world, gave me money to get a cab, were OUTRAGEOUSLY concerned for my safety.... what the HELL do you have to apologize for?"

Derek looked.... sincerely confused by that, as if Stiles was asking him why numbers existed or something like that

It was kind of sad

"Well.... I've been informed that I may have been a bit... harsh... with you earlier," he explained

"I don't think you can describe 'caring more than you probably should in the gentlest, nicest way possible about a complete stranger' as 'harsh' dude...."

"Preachy" maybe, just from the sheer amount of Derek's insistence earlier, but even that was something of a stretch

"Still, I shouldn't have been so ... argumentative,"

"You SERIOUSLY have nothing to apologize for, if anything I should apologize to you for being such an inconvenience, and ... for arguing with you more than I maybe should have, I mean.... you were just trying to help, although WHY you wanted to help so badly I'll probably never know,"

"I know how you feel, I mean, about the stress, I opened my own place too, and... I still remember what that was like, how hard it was during the first year especially, and even moreso around the holidays, and atleast I had had my sisters to help me, I imagine if I'd been alone I probably would have been sleepwalking too, besides, I know as well as anyone how holiday stress can get to you, it's.... alot to deal with, I get it,"

Somehow, Stiles didn't quite believe that all of this was some sort of "small business solidarity" thing, but he didn't feel like pressing the issue- especially with the fact that his store was still semi-full and he needed to get back to work- so he'd accepted it for now

"Still, it was really nice of you and you REALLY don't need to apologize for anything, seriously, more than seriously, after everything you did, I should be paying you- oh... actually, you know what? I DO need to pay you, for the cab fair,"

"What? Oh... no no no, that was... don't worry about that, really,"

Stiles squinted, nose wrinkling and lips pursing into a thin, tight line as he stared at the werewolf across from him

"Yeah, excuse me, no, I am SO paying you and I don't even want to hear an argument about it ok? Just wait here for a second so I can get my wallet alright?"

Stiles turned around for a moment- JUST a single moment!- just to ask one of the employees at the cash register nearest to him to hold down the fort a little bit longer, and when he turned around again...

Derek was gone

...

This was completely and utterly unacceptable

 

~+~

 

"Surprise Wolf, bet you never thought you'd see me again,"

Had he.... actually used an American Horror Story quote when he walked in?

Derek didn't even know what to make of that

"Stiles, is there something I can do for you?" he asked with a small smirk, deciding to just side-step the quote thing all together

It was probably the safer option for everyone involved

"Yeah, as a matter of fact there is, you can take the repayment for my cab fair,"

The demand was punctuated with a few bills smacked down onto the counter, and all Derek could do was stare at the money with raised eyebrows and a complete lack of humor as he gently pushed it back towards Stiles

"How did you even find me?"

"Google, isn't that how you found me?" Stiles frowned, pushing the money back across the counter

"No, I found you by tracking your scent," Derek explained, shoving the money back

Stiles seemed momentarily stunned by that, obviously not having expected that answer, and it was just long enough for Derek to grab the cash and carefully slip it into the pocket of the witch's plaid overshirt

"Didn't you think Googling would be... I don't know.... easier?"

"What was I supposed to Google? 'Where does Stiles work?'? Besides, I'm not.... great... with technology, I'm much better with just using my nose,"

Stiles looked.... partly confused and partly frustrated

"... Why didn't you just Google 'apothecary' and 'Stiles'?"

"Why would your website have your name on it though?"

Stiles' face crunched up, looking even more confused than before

"Why the- .... you know what? Nevermind, look," he took the cash out of his pocket, practically slamming it back on the counter and glaring at Derek

"Take the money, for the love of God, take the money,"

"No," Derek frowned back, sighing and glancing over Stiles' shoulder

There were people coming in and there was someone stepping behind Stiles to line up

It was a week before Christmas and the rush was definitely starting to show and Derek just didn't have _time_ for this

"Listen, Stiles, I'm a little swamped at the moment-"

"Oh! Sorry!" Stiles said quickly, stepping out of line and allowing the woman behind him to step up to the counter

"I"ll take to you later ok? I promise,"

Stiles nodded at that, apparently a little apprehensive but overall understanding, and gave Derek a wave as he rushed out of the bakery

Derek just inhaled, slapping on as much of a freindly smile as he could as he turned to the customer in front of him, in the back of his mind already trying to plan out how to handle his future problem

 

~+~

 

"Derek! Hey!"

The wolf smiled gently at Stiles as the witch rushed out from behind a shelf he was restocking

Derek wasn't sure if the excitement was due to finally getting to pay Derek back- and _why_ he would be excited about that was beyond him, really- or if he was just excited to see Derek

....

 _Had_ to be the first one

Stiles had no reason to be excited about seeing him

"Finally here to let me repay you huh?"

"Yeah, ofcourse, I'm here for a couple of other things too,"

Stiles looked sincerely surprised by that, eyebrows raising and blinking innocently

"Oh really? What's that?"

"Firstly to do a little Christmas shopping, and secondly to deliver these,"

He punctuated that by setting a basket full of pastries down on the counter, a smirk on his face

If Stiles was going to try to pay him back for cab fair then he was just going to give him a basket of pastries equaling the fair amount- see how he likes _that_

"Wah- ... Derek! You're defeating the point!"

"I know," the wolf grinned devilishly

Stiles narrowed his eyes, nose wrinkling in irritation

"You're not going to let me do this no matter what I do are you?"

"You're finally getting it,"

Stiles just shook his head, but apparently gave up on the good fight and just let it go, changing the subject to something a bit different

"You said you were doing some Christmas shopping? Are you looking for anything specific?"

"No, we're just browsing for now, but I think I see some things I'm interested in... a few are in a glass case with a lock on it, can you open it for me?"

Stiles tilted his head, clearly confused

"'We'?"

Derek glanced over his shoulder, nodding his head towards the small group of people who had flooded in right behind him

"We," he confirmed

"Did you..... did you... BRING all of those people with you?"

He didn't know if Stiles sounded mortified or just plain stunned, but he was clearly taken off guard

"Yeah, they're my pack, we all have a little last minute Christmas shopping to do, I thought this might be a cool place to do it,"

Stiles frowned, nose wrinkling and eyes narrowing as if he were offended by that notion

"Are you pity shopping for me?"

"What? No! Why would I be-"

"You brought your entire PACK in here Derek, for no apparent reason, after you've been INSISTING all day that I take your money,"

"Because you have a cool store, in case you haven't noticed, this is an apothecary and we're a _pack_ \- therefore the majority of us are not human, therefore the majority of us could really use a place like this,"

Stiles still looked incredibly tense for a few moments, before slowly starting to deflate, a sad and sheepish look fluttering across his face

"... You're right, I'm sorry... I'm just being paranoid now,"

"It's ok,"

"No, no it isn't ok, it's not, you've been ... nice to me all this time and I've just been CRAZY and it isn't fair to you at all.... you must think I'm a basket case,"

"No.... I think it's a week before Christmas and you're owning your own business during the holidays for the first time and you're more stressed than usual, that's what I think,"

Stiles deflated, heaving a quiet sigh and hanging his head, though if it was out of exhaustion or sadness, Derek wasn't sure

"I'm crazy.... I've been going crazy on you, and all you've done is be nice to me, you don't deserve this crap..." he huffed, leaning up against a cabinet and rubbing his eyes with- Derek assumed- exhaustion

"I'm just.... frustrated and tired, and the holidays always drive me nuts and this year my freind Scott and his mom- who my dad and I usually spend Christmas with- is gonna be at his fiance's house with her family and even though I'm freinds with her and all it just feels intrusive and it's just... it's just...."

"Lonely?" Derek guessed quietly

"And frustrating and exhausting and hard on the wallet,"

"Yeah... I get that, I promise, I do,"

Everything was quiet for a moment, like a beat had skipped, before Stiles finally spoke again, apparently back on track with business

"SO! What did you need out of those cases again?"

 

~+~

 

Derek really hadn't been lying when he had told Stiles that he had a cool store- he had meant every word sincerely

Stiles' store was amazing and Derek definitely would have been shopping there sooner if he had known it existed

(Note to self: Help Stiles find better advertising)

It was thanks to the store that his Christmas shopping was done on time, and now he was able to just concentrate mostly on the bakery and getting the last few days before Christmas dealt with

Though.... that didn't mean his thoughts didn't still occasionally wander elsewhere

He wasn't sure why but part of him was still worried about Stiles

Worried that he was overdoing it, worried that he wasn't sleeping, worried that he was sleep-walking again....

And he had no business worrying about him, that was the thing

Stiles wasn't his to worry about so he shouldn't be doing it....

And yet....

"Hey Derek,"

Think of the devil...

"Stiles," the wolf blurted out, head jerking up as he stared at the witch

It may have only been a day since they had seen eachother last, but Derek couldn't help being excited to see him again

Part of it was out of releif, glad to see that he hadn't become a road pancake due to lack of sleep, but part of it was just....

Happiness

After they had gotten past their initial bumps in the road they had spent a wile talking and Stiles was just.... really, really cool

He was a good person and a pleasant person to be around and Derek had FUN talking to him, how often did THAT happen?

Not very, hardly ever as a matter of fact

And even before they had had their talk, back when things were still kind of weird and tense and out of control, Derek LIKED Stiles for some ... not quite explainable reason

He understood him, he clicked with him somehow

So maybe it wasn't so surprising after all that he would be excited to see the witch....

"Is there ... something I could help you with?" he asked after a beat

They had just opened a couple of hours ago so they really weren't busy yet, the bakery was in a late morning lull that would pick up when lunch hit in another hour or so

In other words, he had time to talk

"There is, actually, can I get a box of chocolate chip cookies and give you this?"

Derek was nodding along right up until the word "Give" and now there was a box sitting on the counter that he didn't know what to do with

"Um-"

"It's a Christmas gift, not because I feel indebted to you or anything, don't worry, I just.... wanted to do it,"

Derek smiled softly, reaching out and taking the box gently

"You really didn't have to do this.... but thank you,"

"I know I didn't, I wanted to though,"

And that seemed to settle the argument right then and there

"So, chocolate chip?" he asked a moment later

"Yep, you have that right?"

"We do, a dozen or two dozen?"

Stiles went quiet for a moment, prompting Derek to look up at him with mild concern

"Oh my God..... you should so not be offering me two dozen... but I'll take it anyway,"

"One dozen it is,"

"Wah- hey!!"

"Well you said not to offer you two, I'm just trying to help, besides you don't need all that sugar,"

"What if they're for a party or something!?"

"ARE they for a party or something?"

Stiles didn't have to answer, the look on his face was explanation enough

"One dozen it is,"

Stiles just rolled his eyes, clearly not pleased with the situation, but atleast he seemed to know it was for the best

"Here you go, and one more thing," Derek said after a moment, handing him the box of cookies and bending down behind the counter

"You ARE accepting payment for these right?" Stiles frowned

"Yes Stiles, I'm accepting payment," he snorted back, rising up again a moment later with a gift-wrapped box in hand and setting it down in Stiles' hands, on top of the box of cookies

"Merry Christmas," he smirked, taking the cash and opening the register

Huh....

Correct change.....

"You... you.... I don't even know what to CALL you,"

"You're welcome, now don't open that until Christmas,"

The snort Stiles gave was very much an answer to that request

"I mean it, no opening until after Christmas, alright?"

Stiles looked a bit put out by this, but ultimately seemed to agree to it, if the heavy sigh he heaved was any indication

"No opening until Christmas,"

"Good," Derek smirked, setting his own gift under the counter for safe keeping

"I'll see you soon then,"

Stiles took a moment, smiling gently and nodding at his sentiment

"Yeah.... see you soon,"

 

~+~

 

It was only a few days before Christmas that Derek had given him his gift, but he had been practically ITCHING the entire time to open it

He was a curious person!

How could he NOT be itching to see the gift that the generous- albeit weird- almost stranger had given him?

But, as tempted as he was and eager as he was to open it, he kept his promise

After everything Derek had done for him it would just seem a little rude not to

Still, when Christmas morning finally arrived he ripped into that thing like a starving dog ripped into a steak

And yet.... the gift wasn't the most interesting part of the package

(Though don't get him wrong, the Wonder Woman statuette was pretty freaking cool, and Derek must have gotten the idea from the shirt that Stiles had been wearing the night of the ... er.... incident...)

But it was the card that really made Stiles pause

It made him feel.... warm and wanted and appreciated inside

_You're welcome with us any time, today included, come by if you want to, we have cookies_

_P.S. Your father is welcome as well_

And under that was an address

Stiles....

Stiles didn't know what to DO with this

Derek was inviting him over- presumably to his HOUSE, where there were obviously going to be other people- for Christmas

Who _does_ something like that for someone they don't even know?

Derek (who Stiles recently learned had the last name of Hale) apparently!

Stiles spent most of Christmas morning trying to figure out what to do with himself, trying to decide if he should take them up on the much more than generous offer or not

He made his decision when, half-way through the afternoon, his father was called into work for some kind of emergency, and Stiles knew that he was just going to be stuck there alone all day worried sick about his father's well-being if he didn't.... DO something

So with that in mind, he decided to screw social decorum- Derek obviously had- and grabbed his jacket

What's the worst thing that could happen?

 

~+~

 

Derek's pack

Derek's pack was the worst thing that could happen, but really, Stiles meant that in the most AFFECTIONATE way

The thing is....

His pack was pretty big, probably around a dozen people, and wile that was still small and growing by most werewolf standards it was bigger than Stiles' pack and ...

Just not what he had expected to run into when Derek had invited him over

He had kind of been thinking it'd be more of an intimate thing, but now...

Now he just felt even more out of place than he would have at Kira's....

Atleast he KNEW Kira....

"Stiles?"

He turned around, rubbing his arm anxiously and glancing up at Derek

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah.... yeah, yeah, just... I think I'm gonna go though,"

Derek actually looked crushed by that for some reason, wich was sweet, but not enough to make him stay

"What? Why?"

"Look, it was.... nicer than nice for you to invite me here but this is a personal thing, this is something for you and your family... your pack... not something for me to intrude on,"

"You aren't intruding,"

"It feels like I am,"

Derek didn't seem happy about this... but he looked more compassionate than displeased, nodding towards the couch behind him without saying a word and watching as Stiles slowly sat down

"I know what it feels like to be lonely around this time of year, for everyone you used to have to be gone... I get it, and maybe inviting you here wasn't the most logical thing to do but... the first time I enjoyed Christmas after five years of misery was when my sister started this pack, and at the time it was small and I didn't know the other four people who were going to be here, it was awkward and I felt ... shy and out of place but when I started talking to people it got better, I won't stop you from leaving, nor will I take it personally if you do, but I'm just asking you to give it once chance ok? I mean.... you've only been here for ten minutes,"

The last bit was added with something of a well-deserved smirk and Stiles couldn't help but agree with him, atleast to a point

Maybe he had just gotten stage fright and hadn't given it a chance....

"Alright," he relented

"I'll stay,"

"Good," Derek smirked with a small nod, extending his hand to the witch to help him up

Stiles smiled softly, accepting his hand and slowly standing up

"Come on, Laura is making hot chocolate,"

"Thanks," Stiles nodded, taking half a step away from the couch but pausing suddenly when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye

"Is that mistletoe? Isn't that poisonous to us?"

Derek glanced up as well, a smirk forming over his face as he stared up at the leafy green plant above them

"Yep, wich is why my sisters always hang holly instead and tell everyone to PRETEND it's mistletoe,"

Ok, Stiles had to admit, that was actually a pretty cute tradition

"But the sentiment is the same, right?" he asked, glancing back towards Derek ... hopefully? Curiously? He knew what he wanted the answer to be but he wasn't sure if he could handle it if it was...

"Yeah," Derek nodded, setting a hand gently down on Stiles' shoulder and leaning in a little bit closer

"The sentiment is the same... if ... it's ok for it to be the same,"

Stiles gave an almost breathless laugh, grinning and leaning up to wrap his arms around Derek's neck

"It's COMPLETELY ok for the sentiment to be the same,"

And that was it

That was all they needed

In an instant the two were both leaning in to meet in the middle, lips turning from a slight brush against eachother to a full on kiss, arms wrapping around eachother, world tuning out

Maybe Stiles could get used to this


End file.
